26.05.2023 - 12:46 UTC
Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has welcomed a ruling at the General Court, Europe’s second-highest court, on state aid favouring Italian airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic. The court backed the low-cost carrier’s challenge and annulled the European Commission-approved aid.
In October 2020, the EU competition authority allowed Italy to give EUR130 million euros (USD140 million) in subsidies to airlines holding an Italian operating licence. As ch-aviation reported at the time, while the country’s then-flag carrier Alitalia had received EUR199.45 million (USD213.6 million) in Brussels-backed state support in September 2020, three other local carriers, Air Dolomiti, Blue Panorama Airlines, and Neos Air, appealed to the Italian government “to act as quickly as possible” to release the newly-approved EUR130 million.
However, in its May 24 ruling the Luxembourg-based court said that the authority had “failed to provide a statement of reasons for its finding that the measure at issue was not contrary to EU law provisions other than those governing state aid.”
The court explained that “according to settled case-law, a decision not...
26.05.2023 - 08:36 UTC
Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) and Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance have struck a deal on the future of ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) following weeks of negotiations that began in January but were extended beyond their initial deadline of April 24. The German flag carrier announced on the evening of May 25 that it will initially buy a 41% stake in its state-owned Italian counterpart.
It will pay EUR325 million euros (USD349 million) for the minority stake through a capital increase, which is more than the amount sources close to the talks had previously reported. Lufthansa at first proposed, unnamed Italian government sources told the newspaper Corriere della Sera earlier this week, an investment of EUR250 million (USD268 million), but the figure rose during the extended negotiations.
As part of the new agreement, the ministry has also itself committed to a capital increase of EUR250 million (USD268 million) into ITA.
In addition, the German and Italian sides “agreed on options to enable a potential acquisition of the remaining shares by...
23.05.2023 - 14:22 UTC
Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) has sold six A380-800s at a discount on the initial sale price after the aircraft sustained storm damage which was not covered by insurance, according to the aeroTELEGRAPH portal.
The transaction dates back to March 2019, when Airbus agreed to acquire the six planes as part of a deal involving Lufthansa buying twenty A350s, with the six A380-800s then due to start exiting the Lufthansa fleet in 2022. At the time, the A380s' acquisition price was not disclosed. However, the Lufthansa Group's 2022 Annual Report, released two months ago, disclosed an agreed sale price of EUR315 million euros (USD340.9 million).
"Six aircraft are to be returned to Airbus by November 2023," the report notes. However, because of storm damage to five of the A380-800s, the sale price has been reduced by EUR13 million (USD14.08 million) to EUR302 million (USD327.01), or 4.13%. Lufthansa refers to the this as an "unscheduled change in value." The type of damage was not specified, but it was disclosed that insurance did not cover it....
Editorial Comment: The A380s are stored in Teruel, not Terceira. - 26.05.2023 - 05:34 UTC
23.05.2023 - 02:26 UTC
Less than three months before a decision date deadline, the European Commission continues to hold concerns that the merger between Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) and Asiana Airlines (OZ, Seoul Incheon) may have a significant competitive impact.
In a statement, the European Commission said that it has sent Korean Air a statement of their objections to the proposed merger. This follows the opening of an in-depth investigation in February. The European Commission is the EU's executive arm. Specifically, the commission has concerns on two fronts, including that the provision of passenger transport services may be reduced on four routes between South Korea and France, Germany, Italy, and Spain and that the provision of cargo transport services may be reduced between all of Europe and South Korea.
"Korean Air and Asiana compete head-to-head in carrying passengers and cargo between the EEA (European Economic Area) and South Korea. Together, they would be by far the largest carriers of passengers and cargo on these routes and the merger may remove an important alternative for customers," reads the...
